Mum fuming after ‘eyesore’ telegraph pole erected 2 metres from house | UK | News
Tracey Crarer had a telephone pole built just 10 feet from her balcony (Image: SWNS)
A mother was left furious after an “eyesore” was erected just two meters from her living room window, obscuring her view. Tracey Crarer, 51, has lived at her home in Matlock, Derbyshire, for 30 years but now wants to sell because of the new 26ft BT mast rising above her property.
The mother of two returned home from work one day to find workers removing the fence panel and beginning to erect the ugly structure. The decking at the rear of the property now almost touches the new pole and wires run across its backyard. Tracey says she can no longer enjoy being outside due to the deterioration of the view of Riber Castle. The mother now fears not being able to sell her house because of the “monstrosity” erected last summer. BT complained to Openreach and was told that if it wanted the mast moved it would have to pay for it itself, which was expected to cost thousands of pounds. Tracey, who lives with her husband and two children, said: “My house is like a fly caught in a spider’s web now. I loved our house, we’ve been here since 1995 but I hate it now and don’t want to be here anymore. So who’s going to buy it now?”
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Telephone pole built just 10 feet from Tracey Crarer’s balcony (Image: SWNS)
“If I want to build a bigger hedge I can’t do it without planning permission and if the hedges are a few inches too high they will make you cut them down – but it looks like BT Openreach can do whatever they want.
“I know they didn’t do anything illegal, but they did it without saying anything or consulting. People have the right to wi-fi in their homes, but I also have the right to enjoy my home.
“I can’t open my windows anymore because of the terrible creosote smell, and because I don’t want to open my living room curtains, all I can see is that pole. I loved sitting outdoors, but now I prefer to stay inside or be at work seven days a week.”
Tracey said her first knowledge of the telegraph pole being installed was when she found workers digging in the street on June 17 last year.
He added: “One day I was returning home from work when I noticed these workers had dug a hole and lifted it from the fence panel and placed it on the pavement.
“I asked what they were doing and they explained how they had obtained planning permission to install this mast, which we had never been told about.
“I thought they should have consulted the neighbors first on anything involving planning permission but we didn’t have anything about it but I really thought there was nothing I could do.”
After BT contacted Openreach, Tracey said she was told staff would not be visiting the site and claimed the cables did not extend into her garden without even sending an engineer.
He added: “We complained openly and were told notices had been put up – which is absolutely not true, there are two lampposts on our side and nothing was put up there.
“Due to the wires hanging over my garden, magpies and crows are sitting on the line doing their business on the sheets that I have to clean for work, and this is also affecting my livelihood.
“I also have bird droppings all over my flooring which has ruined my outdoor fun. But they say the cables don’t run over my gardens but you can clearly see they do, yet they refuse to come look and close the case.
“No engineers went out to inspect this. BT Openreach even confirmed that everything was done via the desktop, so basically it was all done on a computer. “It’s all about servicing five properties so they can have Wi-Fi, but none of those houses are ours so it doesn’t help us in the slightest.
“There are other suitable locations in a nearby side street or at the end of very long gardens but they chose to site it right next to my house and garden.
“They said if we wanted it moved, we’d have to pay for it ourselves. I can’t believe anyone thought it would be a good idea to put up a telegraph pole this close to a house.”
One of Tracey’s neighbours, who asked not to be named, added: “It’s a bit of an eyesore and I really feel sorry for her having it so close to her home. There are so many other places they could have put this beast. It defies common sense and logic.”
Derbyshire county councilor Sue Burfoot, who backed Tracey, said: “They basically said ‘you don’t matter, we don’t care, we can do what we want and you can’t do anything about it’. It’s just bad practice. As we’ve said from a planning perspective, there’s a clear loss of housing amenity.”
An Openreach spokesman said: “We are sorry to hear about the concerns raised and are investigating the situation. Wherever we can, we are using our existing masts and underground channels as we develop the network.”
“We keep new masts to a minimum, but sometimes they are needed to ensure people can connect. We always comply with local planning rules and try to work carefully across all our communities.”
